Our Journey
by hi.kuuipo
Summary: They live on separate ends of the country, but will their distance keep them apart or bring them closer together? TxG
1. Gabriella Montez

**Our Journey**

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own High School Musical or anything related to it.**  
**

**Summary:**

They are two different people, who come from two different worlds. One is out-going, fun, and smart, while the other, though as equally smart, is more reserved. Will they be able to survive their own journey?

**Chapter 1: Gabriella Montez**

_San Francisco, California_

She sits comfortably on her bed, her long, dark brown curls falling loosely on her petite shoulders, her back resting on her headboard, and her legs bent upwards near the chest area and on her knee sits a book. Gabriella Grace Montez has been engulfed in this newly purchased book of hers for hours. This is how a spring break should be spent, she thought.

Earlier that day, while she accompanied her mom to the mall, she briefly left her mother's side and quickly ran to the bookstore. There, she allowed herself to roam around, scan the pages of the books that might seem interesting enough to her, and finally, after many searches and thinking that her mom would be a bit furious for leaving her by herself, she finally found it. She found the book she was looking for. There, on the small reading table, lays the book called _Falling In Love With Jesus_. Now, Gabriella might be Catholic, considering that she's of Hispanic descent, but she was never really religious. The only times she would be able to attend church was when her grandparents would visit them and force her mom and her as well, to tag along.

Anyways, what caught her eye was not the pretty red rose or the pale teal cover of the book, even though she does love roses and prefers the color red. No, what caught her attention was the title. _Falling in love…_she thought that it was something that she just might need. She knew she wasn't ready for a serious relationship with a guy (despite what Taylor, her best friend, might say), so why not explore her religious side and give this kind of love a chance? She then picked up the book and carefully skimmed through the pages. After reading a paragraph or two, she knew that she needed to buy this book. Gabriella approached the counter, smiled politely at the male employee who was staring at her, paid for her book, and left the store to go find her mom.

Thankfully, her mom was still busy looking for the perfect dress for her business conference's annual gala, and she was able to hide her recent book from her mom.

So, now, here sits Gabriella, reading her book; oblivious to everything around her. She has completely tuned out the singing birds that currently sits on her balcony, the instant messages she has been receiving on her laptop remains unread, and her mother's voice, which is quiet loud, she fails to hear. This brown-eyed beauty just cannot be bothered to put her precious book down. Unfortunately for her, Glenda Montez has no intention of sounding like a broken record. From the kitchen, where she left her delicious cooking, she made a sharp left, stomped up the stair, made another left, walked to the end of the hallway, and gave a few hard knocks on her daughter's door.

"Gabriella! Did you not hear me calling your name for the past ten minutes or so?"

Gabriella's head snapped up from her book, and her eyes darted to her banging door. She quickly got up from her comfortable position and went to go and answer her door.

"Hi, mom," she said sheepishly. "What's up?"

"What's up? What do you mean 'what's up'? I've been calling your name for the past ten minutes and I get no response from you. What are you up to anyways," questioned Glenda.

Gabriella slowly looked back at her bed where she had left her book and looked back again at her mom.

"Sorry mom. I was too caught up in my book. I didn't hear you calling me," she mumbled.

"It's okay sweetie. I know you love reading, but you must remember to not get too caught up in it. Time doesn't stop and if you keep reading, you might miss something important," Glenda said as she quietly chuckled at her daughter's love for reading.

The two quietly headed down to the kitchen. And as Gabriella followed her mother downstairs, she couldn't stop dreaming about her "prince," her "knight-in-shining-armor." It's because that was what the book she was reading talked about…to have patience in finding the right man. She now has confidence that she'll meet him when the right time comes. She believes that God is molding the two of them as we speak and the He's scheming the perfect for them to meet.

Once in the kitchen, Gabriella helped her mom prepare dinner, the two ladies bonding as mother and daughter. Then, while Glenda finished cleaning up the mess that they had acquired, Gabriella was asked to set the table and to bring out their food. The two made small talk during dinner, while constantly laughing about the silliest things. Finally, when Glenda couldn't stand hiding her situation any longer, she approached her daughter.

"Gabriella, honey…I have a favor to ask of you." Glenda nervously said while looking down at her almost finished plate.

Gabriella's smile slowly faded as she looked at her mom. Glenda doesn't usually ask that many favors from her daughter and knows that this was probably important to her mom. So, Gabriella gently placed her fork down and reached out for her mother's hand.

"Mom, for you…anything." Gabriella beamed as she saw her mom release the breath that she had apparently been holding in.

"OH! Thank you, baby…but, wait a second. You don't even know what the favor is yet. How can you possibly say yes already?" Glenda geared a questioning look toward her daughter.

"Because mom, I know that whatever this favor might be, it must be really important to you." Gabriella said as she went back to eating her meal. "Speaking of which, what EXACTLY is this favor?"

"Oh…well, you know how I have that business conference in Chicago, at the end of this week?" Glenda started. "Well, they had asked us to bring our family along…and I know it would be boring for you, but you can tour the city while I'm cooped up in the meeting hall, listening to the speakers. And after, I think Saturday night, there's the gala. It'd be fun to go to, no? Getting all dressed up and dancing the night away! Then the hotel is very nice too. Someone had told me that it's one of those luxury hotels. There's a pool and a –."

Gabriella stared at her mother while she talked and talked. And finally, when she realized that her mom was rambling and trying her hardest to persuade her, she finally decided to cut her off.

"I'll go mom." Gabriella giggled as she saw the stunned expression on her mom's face. "It'll be fun."

Glenda couldn't help but smile. She wondered, after all these years, how she was blessed with the most amazing and thoughtful daughter. She is always so proud of her little angel. Gabriella had exceeded many of her expectations and is in awe of her awesome personality. She's a fun-loving girl, though you wouldn't know it on first impression. She likes to keep to herself, stay quiet, but once you get the chance to know her, she's the nicest and most caring person you'll ever meet. And her being one of the top students in her class is a plus, too. She's everything a mother could ask for.

And with that, the pair finished their dinner, threw their dishes in the dishwasher, and decided to have a movie night. They watched _A Walk to Remember._

* * *

**AN: The next few chapters will just be character introductions. So, sorry if its boring. And, this is my first story ever, and it would be greatly appreciated if you guys R&R. **


	2. Troy Bolton

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own High School Musical or anything related to it.

**Chapter 2: Troy Bolton**

_Trenton, New Jersey_

At the same moment, though at the other side of the country, lies a boy. After a couple of hours of playing the game that he loved, he finally concluded that it was time for a well-deserved break. So, we walked to the grassy area that surrounded his concrete basketball court. Once there, his body gave in to its fatigue and he flopped down on the grass.

"Ahhh…" he said. It felt so nice to finally have his back lean on something. The cool grass even made up for his sweaty-ness, so he relaxed and closed his ocean-blue eyes. But as he lies on the ground beneath him, the brightness of the sun penetrated through his shut eyes. So, he did the only thing he knew would work. He lifted up his left forearm – jeez, it felt like about it weighed a ton – and placed it comfortably over his eyes. There, he thought, no more sun. And this shaggy, sandy haired boy drifted off to sleep.

* * *

When the boy awoke, he couldn't stop thinking about the dream that he had just had. It was weird, yet not unordinary. It was a girl, about the same age as he, and she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Well, not really "seen" because he couldn't put a face to the person. He just knows that the personality he saw, the beauty of her heart, made him long for her. 

"Someday…" He said, though not really meaning to say it out loud. He was then forced to remember that conversation he has with his friends, who all happened to be on the school's basketball team as well. It was about them, constantly bombarding him with questions about his "love life" or more like, lack there of.

_Yesterday _

_Chad Danforth, Troy's best friend, had called together some of the team members, namely Zeke Baylor, Jason Cross, and Ryan Evans to interrogate their captain. Okay, okay, Ryan was more like their only friend who doesn't play basketball, but he does play Varsity Baseball and that was good enough for them._

_Anyways, for the past couple of years, Chad had been wondering to himself why his captain/best friend hasn't had any girlfriends yet, granted that he is probably the most popular guy in school. Yes, Troy Raymond Bolton is without a doubt, the most sought after guy in Trenton Prep. Chad thought that through middle school, Troy just didn't want to get involved with a girl yet, so he let those slide, thinking that come high school, his best friend will have girls hanging off him left and right. _

_And Chad got what he wished for, but not. Come high school, Troy turned out to be the celebrity of Trenton Prep. When he tried out for the school's junior varsity team, many of the coaches were impressed with him that they wanted him to be in their varsity team. But, Troy being his humble self, turned the spot down and told them that he wanted to get situated with the school first and that maybe he'll try varsity during his sophomore year. And during his freshman year, where the two best friends met Zeke and Jason, Troy's celebrity started to grow. Many heard of his modesty and practically all the girls at Trenton Prep wanted to jump him. Troy's got everything as far as looks was concerned. He had those hypnotic blue eyes, a smile to kill for, a very well toned body, and a heart of gold. He's loveable and the only reason other jocks in the school hate him is because, they can no longer stand being compared to him. _

_Nevertheless, Chad thought that Troy would finally pick a girl. But, when the four of them became varsity their sophomore year, and Troy was chosen captain, and more girls than ever are vying for his attention, Troy chose to remain single. This puzzled Chad and wanted to address this problem to their friends, most especially Troy._

"_Hey guys," Troy said as he welcomed his friends to this humble abode. "What's up?" He looked at his friends wondering what was going on seeing as they all had come unexpected and had a somewhat somber face. _

"_We need to talk." Chad started, wanting to get this over with. "Are you ok? I mean, you're not having problems are you? Because if you are, we're here for you. Just tell us and we'll gladly help you with whatever it is. Do you want us to talk to her for you? Find out if she likes you too? Make sure she's alone so you can talk to her. We just want you to be happy, Troy."_

_Troy looked at his friend's face. They all had the same eager ones that Chad had. But, what were they talking about...? And then, it hit him. His friends had always hinted that he should get a girlfriend, but it never occurred to him that they were serious._

"_Wait, are you guys talking about me getting a girlfriend?" Troy enquired._

"_YES!" They all said unanimously. "Troy," Ryan pleaded, "we're graduating soon. And you haven't even had one single girlfriend. Find one before you leave high school, please?"_

_Troy didn't know whether to be touched or angry that his friends cared about his love life that much. "Guys…I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me. But as I've told you all before, I'm not looking for a girlfriend just yet. Yes, I admit that it would be nice to have one but I'm not just gonna ask the first girl I think I like. I would want to get to know her first, see if there's any sort of connection between us. I don't wanna take this type of relationship lightly."_

_Once Troy was finished, his friends knew that there was nothing more they could do. When Troy made up his made, it's really hard for anyone to persuade him to changing. That's just the way he is. He knows what he wants and what he doesn't. And right now, he doesn't feel the need to be involved in a relationship._

_So, to break the awkward silence between them, all the boys looked at each other, placed their right hand over their left, and wiggled their thumbs. With that action, the five burst out laughing hysterically. "Awkward turtle never fails," Zeke said. And after they've all had the chance to calm down, they headed out the door and went to Pizzeria Uno's, they're favorite pizza parlor. _

Troy snapped back to reality when he heard the back door open and his dad's voice traveled to his ears.

"Troy, I've ordered Chinese food if you're hungry. And do you have everything you need for the wedding? Oh, and by the way, you're mom called from Chicago and she said that you should probably bring an extra sweater or two because it's still a bit chilly there." His father, Jack said, after spotting Troy on the grass. "And you might want to get up now, the sprinklers will be on soon." With that, Troy sprang up from his position and walked over to the door where his dad was.

"Thanks dad, and yes I am hungry, no, I don't think I need anything else from the wedding…mom made sure of that before she left to help out Aunt Marge, and I'll pack extra sweaters just so that she doesn't say 'I told you so' when it does turn out to be cold." Troy smirked and headed off to the kitchen to feed his growling stomach.

* * *

After eating the shrimp fried rice, Mongolian beef, sesame chicken, and combination lo mein, Troy trotted up to his room. He had completely forgotten about the wedding until his dad mentioned it. Now thinking about it, he wondered what it would be like to be married to the person you love, to spend the rest of your life together, always enjoying in each other's company. His train of thought drifted over to the girl in his dreams. That beautiful, yet faceless girl. He just couldn't stop thinking about her. He hopes to meet her one day, when the perfect time comes. And with that, Troy closed his eyes with a simple smile upon his face. 


	3. Hello, Nice To Meet You

**AN: **Sorry for the long wait, I've been extremely lazy. And that's not really a valid excuse...but I did start school last week so I think my updates would be less frequent. Well, here's the next chapter and I hope you all enjoy it. Don't forget to read&&review!

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing! I'm already in debt trying to pay for my college tuition.**  
**

**Chapter 3: Hello, Nice To Meet You**

_Chicago, Illinois_

Gabriella, along with her mom, arrived at O'Hare International Airport at around 10:40am, Chicago time. Which to her means that it was still 8:40am in San Francisco, which also meant that she had to wake up at 3:00am, get ready for their flight and made sure that she and her mom were at San Francisco International Airport before their flight leaves at 4:40am. To Gabriella, this has already been an exhausting day and the day has barely started.

As Gabriella and Glenda walked out of Terminal 34A, the young girl decided that she would need an energy boost if she wants to tour the city and be able to survive the day. She has been awake way too early in the morning and is in dire need of something to help her stay up.

The brown-eyed beauty sighed in relief when they had finally reached baggage claim. The walk from their terminal to where they are now had been long and crowded. They had followed the many signs that pointed to their destination while at the same time, trying mercilessly to dodge the other passenger that were trying to get to their own terminals. Gabriella was shocked to see the amount of people at such an early time. Nevertheless, she followed her mother to the correct conveyor belt where their luggage was being passed. She kept a lookout for her suitcase (mid-size, navy blue, with a green and gold ribbon tied to the handle) and her mom's (dark green, and just a tad bit bigger than Gabriella's).

Then, no sooner than later, Gabriella spotted their suitcase. She had no trouble retrieving her bad, but Glenda's, however, was a different case. It seems as if her mom packed a suitcase that would enable her to stay in town for weeks. Exhausted beyond belief, Gabriella walked over to her mom, who was on the phone, and seemed to be talking to someone important because she was talking quiet fast to the person on the other line. She waved her small, tanned, hands in front of her mother's face to grab her attentions. Once she saw her mom look up at her, Gabriella pointed to the luggage by their feet, then looked and pointed to the green sign to her far right. She waited for Glenda to nod and when she did, she left.

You can never really get a word in whenever her mom's on the phone. And assuming that it must be important since her mom had that look on her face, Gabriella just signaled to her mother. As she walked to the green sign that spelled out "STARBUCKS COFFEE," she could already feel her energy starting to come back and couldn't wait to order her favorite drink.

------------------------

Troy Bolton arrived at Chicago with his father at around 9:15am. It still amazed him that he was able to get up at 7 o'clock in the morning, New Jersey time, considering he was up until 4am doing his last minute packing. So, waking up early, getting ready, and arriving at the airport felt like he has just ran a marathon.

Troy lazily walked out of Terminal 35B and followed his dad to the baggage claim where they can get their bags and would be picked up by his uncle. So, as Troy walks on, he could barely keep his eyes open and surely enough, bumped into several people. Yet, the father and son combo continued and trotted to their designated conveyor belt and tried to patiently wait for their luggage. Unfortunately for them, it too about a good ten minutes before the machine started rolling out their flight's bags and another 5-10 minutes for Troy and his dad to finally get their luggage. And, as if luck was against then, Troy's uncle, who happens to be Jack's brother, phoned them saying that he is stuck in traffic but that he'll be there, hopefully within the next 15 minutes or so.

Now nearing 10am, Troy decided to take a seat at one of the airport benches before he starts to lose his patience. He pulled his luggage close to him, propped up his sore feet atop his suitcase, and relaxed. After about a minute or so, his ocean blue eyes wandered to a petite brunette with long, wavy hair, as she gracefully descended down the escalators. He watched her as she waited for her luggage and laughed silently to himself when she had trouble grabbing the second suitcase. He had to fight the urge to help this beautiful girl. Once this young woman was able to retrieve the baggage all by herself, Troy smiled at her independence. It attracted him. Then, his eyes followed her and stopped when he saw her talking to a woman who he assumed could possibly just be, her mother…seeing many resemblances between the two, of course. He saw her making hand gestures at her mom, followed to where her finger pointed, while he chuckled silently at her cuteness and innocence. Seeing her move away from her mom and anticipating her next destination, Troy stood up from his comfortable position, told his dad that he was going to get some coffee, and was off.

----------------

"Vanilla Latte, please…" Gabriella told the employee, whose name was Nimel.

"Umm, what size ma'am?" asked Nimel. Gabriella weighed her options…_A tall is too small, so definitely not that. Hmm…grande or venti? Would the grande be enough? Will I be able to finish a venti? Well…I guess I can always give mom some of my drink in case I won't be able to finish it…_

"Venti." Gabriella finally said.

"Okay, and that would be $4.37." Gabriella fished through her purse until she found her red, Coach wallet. She took out a five-dollar bill and handed it over to the cashier. When she received her change back, she dropped the remaining coins in the little donation box by the counter and headed to the other side of the stand to wait for her drink.

In the midst of all this, Troy overhead everything. He found it extremely adorable how she had to think about what size of drink she wanted and the fact that she donated her change to the unnoticed donation box made him smile, oddly enough. When Troy's turn came up, Nimel, the same employee who took Gabriella's order, asked him for his.

"Coffee please. Black…oh, and venti." When Nimel told him the prize, he gave her about four dollars and just like Gabriella did, he put his change into the same donation box that sat on the counter, and headed off to wait for his coffee at the other end.

"BLACK COFFEE, VENTI" a different employee, named Christine yelled.

Troy looked up from where he was standing – he was trying to figure out something clever to say to Gabriella, seeing as she was right there, next to him, but he couldn't come up with any. And, just when he resorted to just saying "hi" and going with the flow, Christine yelled out his order.

"Um, here." He raised his right arm over the counter and was carefully holding his drink so as to not burn himself. He took a cardboard coffee holder from the dispenser next to him and slipped it on his coffee cup. He cautiously blew some air through the small opening and when Troy felt it was safe enough, he took a couple of sips and allowed the warmth of the coffee engulf his body.

"You drink your coffee, black?" Gabriella asked. Troy's eyes widened. He completely forgot that the girl he's been staring at was right next to him. And to add to that, she's talking to him! Him, of all people, when he couldn't even think of something worthy to say to her earlier. With that, he tried remained composed slowly removed the cup from his mouth. He looked at her and smiled. _Chill Troy, it's just a question. Act like you've actually talked to a girl before and answer before she thinks you're a snob, _Troy though to himself.

"Well…yeah. I know it's how mainly 'old people' drink, but there's just something about it that can always find a way to lift up my energy." Troy was pleased with how well he answered her and the beat of his heart doubled when he saw her smile up at him.

"VANILLA LATTE, VENTI" Mary called out. Now, it was Gabriella's turn to get her drink. She repeated Troy's earlier actions and placed a cardboard holder on her cup. She also blew carefully into her drink and took a couple of sips. She closed her eyes and inwardly sighed as the warm drink ran through her body.

"That good, huh?" Troy said after watching her taste her latte. Gabriella opened her eyes and giggled.

"Yes, that good. You have no idea how much I needed that. I was up way too early for my own liking," she said as she took a couple more sips of her latte.

"Huh? Well, I had to wake up 7am New Jersey time, which would mean 6am Chicago time. And that completely sucks considering it's my spring break and I'm supposed to be on vacation." Troy said as he too took a sip of his drink.

"I win." Gabriella stated. She then walked to a nearby table and sat down while Troy followed closely behind her and sat across from her. "I had to wake up at 3am California time, which meant 5am Chicago time. And you're not the only one on vacation, buddy. It's my spring break too."

Gabriella found it weird yet interesting that she was able to hold a conversation and maybe flirt a little with this boy. She didn't know what made her talk to him in the first place, but she was glad that whatever it was, she was happy to have had the courage to do it. Her being a shy girl and all, she normally does not talk to guys. Most of the time, she would just look at them timidly and think that she was not pretty enough to notice her. And, now that she took the time to look at this boy, she noticed that he was very attractive. He had these piercing blue eyes that would make any girl swoon. It looked as if you can get lost in them forever. His hair was a mixture of light brown and strawberry blond. It was a bit shaggy and messy but the style suited him perfectly. Whenever his bangs would get in the way, he would just give his head a swing to his right and they would be gone. He used this method instead of using his hand to brush his hair away from his eyes.

On the other hand, Troy continued to stare at Gabriella as well. And when he finally realized that she'd stop talking, he spoke up.

"You do win," he laughed. "But just by an hour….Anyways, what brings you this lovely town called Chicago?"

"My mom's company is having a business conference here. So, instead of leaving me home alone for a whole entire week, she decided it's best that I tag along, and I happily obliged," Gabriella answered. "How about you? What are you doing in this town? Or do you live here?"

"No, I do not live here, though I would love to one day. The city is a crossover between L.A. and New York that it's just fascinating. Anyways, I'm actually here for my aunt's wedding. She's getting married this Saturday and we're here to lend a helping hand. Come to think of it, I don't exactly know what she'll make us do. I'm completely clueless as to what goes on in preparing for a wedding," Troy thought. He made this adorable face while he was "thinking" that made Gabriella giggle.

Troy shook off his mind-wanderings and looked at a giggling Gabriella. He watched her and found himself smiling as well. He wonders how this girl can have such an effect on him. He barely knew her, much less know her name. Speaking of names…

"Hey, I don't think we ever really introduced ourselves," Troy started. Lifting his right hand over his heart, he said, "My name is Troy Raymond Bolton, 18 years of age, and a senior at Trenton Prep in New Jersey."

Gabriella laughed at his corky-ness and introduced herself as well. "Kind sir, I, on the other hand am called Gabriella Grace Montez. I am 18 years of age as well and like you, a senior at San Francisco Bay Academy."

Next thing you knew, the two teens were laughing hysterically at themselves. They cannot believe that they just did that, talking as if they were from the 18th century.

"Well, milady, it's nice to finally have a name to go with such a beautiful face," Troy complimented, which made Gabriella turn a slight shade of pink. He took her hand, which was rested comfortably on the table, and kissed. This made the brunette blush even more so. Troy gently placed both their hands on the table, but never did he let go of it. They continued drinking their coffee, and looked at everything else but the person sitting in front of them. Although, when one of them thinks the other isn't looking, they each would steal glances and hurriedly drink their coffee so the other won't get suspicious. Unfortunately for them, their moment was disrupted when both of their cell phones rang. Gabriella fished for her phone from her purse while Troy dug his from his right side pocket.

"Hello?" Gabriella answered. "Oh, hi mom…I'm at Starbucks…really? Ok, I'll be there soon. Bye." She ended her call and waited for Troy to be finished with his.

"Hey dad…" Troy said. "He's here? Ok, I'm not that far anyways, I should be there within a couple of minutes or so…did you need anything else? Ok, see you in a few."

"Well, I guess this is goodbye," the petite girl started when Troy hung on his dad. Troy nodded. "It was nice meeting you Troy." She stood up to throw away her now empty cup and Troy followed suit. "It was nice to meet you too Gabriella." They stood there, next to the trash can, not knowing what to do. Should they kiss on the cheek? Should they hug? Should they shake hands? Or just not do anything all together. Not being to take in all the awkwardness that was brewing, Troy stuck out his hand. Gabriella didn't disappoint and shook his hand.

With one more intense stare at each other, as if trying to memorize the other's face, the two walked away, going to their own, separate ways.

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R&R please! 


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